Part 1
Part 1 is the 1st episode of The New Edition Story. Plot synopsis Part One Opening Sequence - Home Again Tour - ''New Mexico 1997'' The first part of the mini-series opens with a narrator (narrated by Wood Harris) describing "New Edition" on tour, after they have already achieved success. Although the group performs together with all the current members on stage, they also perform as separate acts. Bobby Brown is one of the founding members of New Edition, who is shown performing solo. While backstage, BBD, the trio group, is shown bothered by Brown's three actions: his erratic behavior, his selfishness, and his over exposure. The three feel that Bobby is stealing the spotlight from the other groups and taking time away from the other acts to perform their sets. Two other solo acts, Johnny Gill and Ralph Tresvant, are also shown in the wings of the stage chatting, while they await their opportunity to perform. Ronnie DeVoe (Keith Powers), member of BBD, decides to interrupt Bobby Brown's performance and orders the DJ to begin playing their set. BBD immediately begins to perform, enraging Bobby Brown. Chaos erupts on stage in the middle of the concert as several members of the competitive groups begin to fight one another. During the ensuing meltdown, a gunshot is heard. The narrator then begins to describe how a group that had become so successful could have gotten to this point in their careers, explaining that it was always ego, pride, and greed. The scene then rewinds back in time to show the group's founding in Roxbury, Massachusetts. The rise of New Edition - ''Roxbury, MA - 1978-1983'' It's a normal day for the people of Orchard Park Housing Projects (also called "O.P."), in Roxbury . A young boy named Ricky Bell (played as a youth by Caleb McLaughlin) (who goes by his nickname 'Slick'), fearfully asks his mother to go to a local talent show with a neighboring friend, Michael Bivins (nicknamed "Mike") (played as a youth by Dante Hoagland). She immediately rejects Ricky's request by telling him he is a bad influence and tells him to stay away from him. However, Ricky finds a way to meet later that night outside with Mike, ignoring his mother's statements. Ricky then asks Mike if he's still going to the show, so that they can support their other friend in the neighborhood, Bobby Brown (played as a youth by Tyler Marcel Williams), who is supposed to perform. They later head to the local talent show and are influenced by the sound of a vocal group called "The Untouchables". Bobby is called on stage to perform and has stage fright within the first few seconds he appeared on stage. The next day, Bobby tells them that he wants to try again. However, they should get on stage with Bobby instead, which was his secret silent plot to get rid of his stage fright. They were at first unsure, but were convinced to be on board, as long as they were able to add another friend who could sing. Ralph Tresvant (played as a youth by Jahi D'Allo Winston) is a friend of the boys, who is down the block trying to impress a girl. Ralph has been trying to get her attention for a while. The boys meet at Ricky's house to practice with small discrepancies happening between them. Ricky's brother and sister, Peanut (Bre-Z) both feel they need guidance if they're going to take it seriously and feel they should meet with Brooke Payne (Wood Harris), a guy who works with some top acts around Boston. The young boys sneak in the back alley of a club to convince Brooke to manage them. However, he wasn't interested until the boys insisted and broke out into an impromptu a capella version of The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back". Brooke then has a change of heart and told the boys to meet him at the neighborhood recreation center, first thing in the morning. The next morning, the boys arrive on time to meet Payne, but Payne doesn't sugarcoat them. He warns them they will be doing some hard work as he becomes their artist developer. Over the course of the weeks, he continued to train them extraneously. Then, he teaches them choreography, as well as mental and physical discipline, while giving them a platform to perform around the city. He came up with a name for them that signifies what the next big act coming from out of their city which would become "New Edition". Brooke then prepares them for a big talent showcase at the Strand Theater by a popular record producer in Boston named Maurice Starr (Faizon Love), who would be offering a recording contract under his independent record label. New Edition makes their debut as an amateur act along with other performers in an "Apollo" styled competition as done at the world's famous Apollo Theater. The judges deliberated and gave Maurice Starr the results of the 1st-place winners and revealed them to be "The Boston Rebels" (a hip-hop duo), The audience became displeased with the decision and ranted out loud in unison "New Edition", upset that they didn't win. Maurice became obligated to also grant New Edition a studio recording session and a record contract. Maurice felt the group would be better as a quintet instead to channel "The Jackson 5". Brooke suggested that his nephew Ronnie DeVoe (played as a youth by Myles Truitt) may be able to join, but must earn his spot to be in the group. He challenges him to fit into the group, performing the routine during the rehearsal. Without a doubt, Ronnie's moves are in sync with the group. During the first studio recording session, Bobby and Ricky get into a scuffle over a pair of headphones, while poor Ralph sits patiently and obediently on the side. Maurice glances over to him and has an idea to instead use him to sing first. To all their surprise, Ralph's voice led the way for the track called "Candy Girl". The momentum in the room gave prominence that the record would be a hit. Impressed by Ralph's vocals, Maurice Starr pays a private visit to Ralph's home to convince him he'd be better off without the group and take a solo deal. Over the holidays, Ralph wanted the best for his mother, Patrica Tresvant (Monica Calhoun), by saving up with the money he made with the group on a Christmas tree. By his mother's melancholy and joyful reaction, it convinced him to make a decision as he secretly called Maurice to turn down the offer instead. Starr accepts the final offer and later meets with the boys' mothers to sign the recording contracts and offered them $500 and a Betamax machine as the prize. Fame came fast as their single,Candy Girl, goes popular nationwide. The boys start to embark on their journey as new found stars, taking photo shoots for their debut album cover. First Album and Candy Girl Tour - ''1983'' "Candy Girl" becomes a number 1 hit on the Billboard charts, topping Michael Jackson. Around this time, the group starts on their national appearances for TV and concert halls. They arrive at The Roseland Theater in Oregon to headline the show alongside Madonna and Kurtis Blow. One exhausting night after a few months on the road, Payne arrives home only to be approached by the disappointed mothers of Bobby and Ricky. They both express their concern about not receiving any checks that their sons should have earned from the shows. They begin to rant that about their financial struggles on food stamps. He explains to them that he is not in charge of their finances, and they should look further to the other positions who may handle the money. Angered by his response, they call him out for being in charge of them and not having things in order. Both threaten to find another manager, who may better help achieve finances. He persuades them to hold on longer to see the results. They mutter in disgrace, but gives him a chance. The young kids of New Edition begin touring all over the world, and start to mature into teenagers. At this point, the group has now became a popular international sensation, creating a huge buzz with screaming-faithful fans who are waiting to greet them. Transition of Power / Boys Gone Wild - ''1983 to 1984'' The tour has came to an end and New Edition returns home to Roxbury in their tour bus, dropping them off in front of their neighborhood projects. The teenage quintet felt a disappointing sense of vibe arriving home, because they wanted to stay on the road and enjoy the high life, instead of returning to poverty. A few days later, the checks from the tour finally arrived. The mothers were very distraught to find out that each of their sons individually received only $1.87 as the final payment from the tour. Payne defends his stance to let the mothers know that it isn't his fault because he himself have never done big business with the music industry on business deals before. He tells them about why it happened that way, describing recoup-able expenses, which they were given a loan up until they can they make profits to pay it back. Therefore, it came out of their check. He dissected the info further to guide them on how the group used their advance money on marketing, promotion, studio, etc. The mothers still weren't buying it. He also spilled his heart out to prove himself that he doesn't even receive a check as well. He would never put the boys in jeopardy, because he loves them and take care of them as if they were his own kids. The ladies continue to argue on the situation, but debated. The four out of five mothers came to the conclusion to vote Brooke out in favor of firing him against Ronnie's mother, Flo DeVoe (La La Anthony), who is also Payne's sister. Angered by their decision, Flo called the shots to pull Ronnie out of the group. However, Brooke declines and tells her that it's all Ronnie have to be able to move out of the neighborhood. A few months later, the mothers sought out another person of interest to be hired for the position as manager, Gary Evans (Michael Rapaport). He pleads his cases to promises by fulfilling a major business deal without financial discrepancies, sidelining not to make the same mistakes Payne made. Also, he vowed to get the group to exit their contract with Maurice Starr. The families agreed to sign him on. Later that year, he prepares New Edition to give an impromptu "office crash" performance for the Executive of MCA Records, Jheryl Busby (Tank), who invested a million dollars for the talent Gary finds. The group storms the office, singing "Popcorn Love" and Mr. Busby was uncomfortably surprised and welcomed the boys to the company. He privately expressed his disappointment and disinterest to Gary about the group, labeling them as "some ghetto kids". Jheryl felt concerned with and aware of the fact that he may be wasting his time, pursuing the group that he demanded to see future results to determine the success of the group. Months later, Gary hires security guards, Jeff Dyson (Wallace Smith) and Khalil, for the group to introduce them at their hotel room. However, Gary unexpectedly walks in on the young men having sex in the dark with female groupies. Gary speaks with authority about their wild behavior, but the boys retaliate their frustrations by challenging the guards, making fun of them. Weeks later, studio sessions start to become an unfair battlefield as the now mature Ralph (Algee Smith), unintentionally takes control of the recording booth, singing lead for most of the tracks. The other members, feeling left out, decide they would rather leave the studio to find girls instead of staying with him to record their vocals. Later that evening, Ralph returns to the hotel chatting with the Jeff Dyson, the group's head bodyguard, about his girlfriend back home. Together, they both walk in on a house gathering, where the guys are playing cards with some girls they picked up. After Ralph questions to his band mates on why he's been singled out on the fun, the others responded that Ralph's been too busy being a "big star". Ricky says that he wouldn't have time for the fun. The boys, along with the girls, all exit the room, leaving him alone. He begins to feel neglected and betrayed. Appearances * Woody McClain as Bobby Brown ** Tyler Marcel Williams as Young Bobby Brown * Algee Smith as Ralph Tresvant ** Jahi Di'Allo Winston as Young Ralph Tresvant * Bryshere Y. Gray as Michael Bivins ** Dante Hoagland as Young Michael Bivins * Elijah Kelley as Ricky Bell ** Caleb McLaughlin as Young Ricky Bell * Keith Powers as Ronnie DeVoe ** Myles Truitt as Young Ronnie DeVoe OTHERS: * Bre-Z as Peanut Bell, Ricky's sister ** Wood Harris as Brooke Payne *** Faizon Love as Maurice Starr *** Tank as Jheryl Busby *** Michael Rapaport as Gary Evans *** Wallace Smith as Jeff Dyson. *** Yvette Nicole Brown as Shirley Bivins, Michael's mother *** Lisa Nicole Carson as Mae Bell, Ricky's mother *** La La Anthony as Flo Payne DeVoe, Ronnie's mother *** Monica Calhoun as Patricia Tresvant, Ralph's mother *** Sandi McCree as Carole Brown, Bobby's mother Notes & trivia * This is the first episode of the New Edition Story. | |[[Category:Episodes]]||}}